Lecheng Bridge in East China's Anhui Province was destroyed by flood on Monday. Photo: Snapshot of Sina Weibo

Two ancient bridges in East China's Anhui Province built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were damaged by a heavy flood on Monday and Tuesday, and the repair work will be evaluated when the flood waters recede, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Lecheng Bridge has a history of more than 400 years. It was previously damaged by flooding and was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The existing Lecheng Bridge is an 11-arch stone bridge, about 150 meters long, six meters wide, and nine meters high.  

Zhenhai Bridge in Huangshan city, Anhui Province with seven arches was built in 1536, and was repaired three times in the Qing Dynasty after also being damaged by flooding. Zhenhai Bridge is 133 meters in length and 7.53 meters wide. 

The local meteorological administration has upgraded the emergency response level for heavy rainfall from level III to II.

An employee of the culture and tourism bureau in Huangshan city, Anhui Province told the Global Times that experts have been to the local site and will re-evaluate the repair work when the flood waters recede.

Local authorities in charge of Lecheng Bridge also said that they have contacted the provincial cultural relic experts and the damaged parts have been checked, according to Chinese News site The Paper on Tuesday.

"The damage to the two ancient bridges is a natural disaster and is very rare. If the damage is very serious, it might be challenging to repair them well," Zheng Gang, an expert in cultural relic restoration at the Shaanxi Institute for Cultural Heritage, told the Global Times on Tuesday.